Khudobin's hot hand ends with 'tough game' vs. Predators

Khudobin's hot hand ends with 'tough game' vs. Predators

NASHVILLE -- The big question going into Monday night’s showdown in Nashville was whether or not Anton Khudobin would still be riding a hot hand after a 10-day layoff following his last start. It was back to normal for the B’s backup netminder in terms of workload, but it’s not often you see a goalie riding a four-game winning streak proceed to go a week-and-a-half between appearances.

We found out why on Monday evening as Khudobin gave up four goals before getting yanked in the second period of an eventual 5-3 loss to the Predators. The backup certainly didn’t get any favors from the defense in front of him with some pretty brutal breakdowns, but Khudobin also struggled mightily with his rebound control before getting pulled in favor of Tuukka Rask.

Perhaps there were some signs this kind of game was coming from Khudobin after he looked erratic with his rebounds in his last win vs. Pittsburgh right after Thanksgiving, but nobody could have guessed it would be this rough.

The first goal allowed was probably the biggest demerit on Khudobin’s ledger for the night with a juicy rebound of an Alexei Emelin shot that kicked right out to Craig Smith for the put-back score.

“Maybe in the middle of the first,” said Khudobin, when asked if he ever got settled into the game. “[It was a] tough bounce on that first goal. It hit on the wrong side of my pad, and it was a tough bounce.”

The final straw was watching Khudobin give up two goals on three shots in the second period with the Bruins then trailing by four goals. Afterward, Khudobin was properly exasperated, and at a loss for words after watching his goals against balloon to 2.52 and his save percentage drop to .922 after just one bad outing.

“It was a tough game…tough game. With scoring chances against, they pretty much scored on everything that they had,” said Khudobin, who short-changed himself a good save on a Kyle Turris breakaway. “I don’t know what to say to be really honest. When the game’s not going your way, you have to change something to get the guys going.”

The good news about Monday night from a goaltending perspective was that Tuukka Rask stopped 10-of-11 shots, and was strong enough to allow the Bruins a furious comeback before the Fillip Forsberg breakaway ice things in the third period. Rask is heating up (a .937 save percentage over his last four games) as Khudobin is regressing back closer to his career numbers (a 2.47 goals against average and .917 save percentage), and the normal balance of things between the Bruins goaltending duo is returning to normal.

That’s bad news for a goalie in Khudobin that’s no longer red-hot after his worst start of the season, but it’s also pretty decent news for a Bruins team that survived Rask’s down period (thanks to Khudobin) and is now readying for the potential beginnings of a shutdown stretch from their established No. 1 guy.

That's a testament to their superior conditioning this season and the way they use their depth to overwhelm opponents in a 60-minute game. The Bruins scored their three goals in the third period to come all the way back from a two-goal deficit and have now outscored opponents 68-38 in the third this season in a jaw-dropping statistic. Basically, the Bruins are a plus-30 in goal differential at the time it matters most. They outshot the Oilers 14-6 in those final 20 minutes and continued pouring it on after they’d hit a couple of posts and missed some golden scoring chances earlier in the game. Some of that was certainly a testament to their resolve and character as they just keep on coming even when they’re getting a little frustrated by the game’s circumstances. Still, some of it is also about a clear time in the game where the Bruins have owned just about all their opponents this season. The third period is theirs.

2) Noel Acciari is finally looking healthy and back to form on the fourth line.

Acciari went through a 10-game scoreless drought and wasn’t playing up to his usual physical standards while he was playing through a lower-body injury in January. Acciari sat out for a couple of weeks to rest the injury, came back midway through February and in the past couple of games is finally back to the hard-hitting, hard-charging factor on the energy line (two hits and a couple of takeaways in his 13 minutes of ice time) that can actually provide a little offense. Acciari’s wraparound goal in the third period was important, too, as he spearheaded the three-goal outburst in the final 20 minutes. The Rhode Island kid now has seven goals on the season and has a legit chance of hitting double-digits this year if he can remain healthy down the stretch, which will always be a challenge given his no-holds-barred style.

3) It’s time to stop fooling around with the trades for left-shot D-men and sign Zdeno Chara to a contract extension.

Chara was immense shutting down Connor McDavid and holding him to two shots and continues to play excellent shutdown defense the past month against some of the top scoring stars in the league. Who can forget the way he completely smothered Auston Matthews in Toronto’s last trip to Boston as the B's gear up for another meeting with the Leafs on Saturday night? Chara has been an excellent warrior, leader and sort of an on-ice coach for the young D-men on the Bruins this season. He’s done everything that Boston has asked of him. Before making a blockbuster trade for a Ryan McDonagh or any other left side D-men that could ostensibly be seen as a long-term replacement for the Bruins captain, they should take care of things with Chara and try to get him locked down ahead of the playoffs. Nobody suspects it’s going to be an issue for the player in any way, shape or form and clearly, a contract year has brought out the best in a player who's a team-best plus-26 on the season. But I don’t think there’s that much more for Chara to prove about their still being gas left in the tank. It’s a reasonable assumption that he can play to this level next season at 41 as well. Certainly, he’s going to have his rough moments when the Bruins play 16 games in March and the playoff grind will always be a challenge for a 40-year-old, but Chara has already proven that Tom Brady isn’t the only 40-year-old ageless wonder still doing his thing in Boston these days.

*Bruce Cassidy deserves plenty of credit for switching out Riley Nash and David Krejci in the third period while still trailing. That proved to be the impetus behind the B's final two goals. Nash fed a crashing Matt Grzelcyk for the tying strike with his new linemates, and then Danton Heinen fed Krejci for the winner to put the B’s on top for good. Those are masterful adjustments from the B’s coaching staff.

*Chara played 22:39 of ice time while completely shutting down McDavid, had five shots on net and five blocked shots in a yeoman’s effort on the second night of back-to-backs. You know, 40-year-old players aren’t supposed to be able to do that stuff. Impressive,

*David Backes won a key one-on-one battle with Drake Caggiula along the side boards to set up Krejci’s goal, had five shots on net and was a stalwart, physical beast for the Bruins against a pretty rough-and-tumble Oilers crew.

*No shots on net in 13:22 for Milan Lucic. He did have six registered hits, but he wasn’t noticeable at all in a game where you’d expect the motor to still be running high.

*The same can be said for Patrick Maroon, who had a shot on net and a hit along with a minus-1 rating in 17:23 of ice time for the Oilers. If that was an audition to be a member of the Bruins, he didn’t really do a heck of a lot to impress them after killing them the past few years.

*One shot on net in 13:43 of ice time for Ryan Spooner, who was dropped to the third line with Nash in the third period. The Oilers might be a tough match-up for Spooner given their size and strength, but he’s got to find a way to be effective against those teams down the stretch.

Morning Skate: Team USA's medal dreams dashed

Morning Skate: Team USA's medal dreams dashed

Here are all the links from around the hockey world, and what I’m reading, while disappointed at the whimper that Team USA went out with during a shootout loss to the Czech Republic.

*Here’s the aforementioned rundown on the Team USA loss just ahead of the medal round with the Americans going 0-for-5 in the shootout after battling to a 2-2 tie. Team USA had their chances and Ryan Donato scored another goal, but it’s clear they weren’t one of the more talented teams in the tournament with no current NHL representation.